After having spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands, we were eager to celebrate another Christmas in “our” city, Podgorica. The Orthodox Church still uses the old “Julian” Calendar, which means that Christmas Eve – in Montenegro called Badnji Dan – is on January 6th and Christmas Day (Božić) on January 7th. […]
montenegro
WINTER IN THE ULCINJ SALINAS
Recently I saw a video about the Ulcinj Salinas and I was so enthusiastic that I decided to go and visit this nature reserve that is still rather unknown in Montenegro and beyond as soon as possible. With 250 registered bird species, the Solana is a paradise for birdwatchers: spoonbills, Dalmatian pelicans, flamingos and […]
WOMEN OF MONTENEGRO
I have read quite a lot of books about Montenegro and its history; many of them were written by travel writers visiting Montenegro at the end of the 19th and in the beginning of the 20th century. For me it was fascinating to learn more about life and traditions of the Montenegrin people, but what […]
PODGORICA: IMPRESSIONS OF BLOK 5
In my opinion, Blok Pet (Blok 5) is one of the most fascinating districts of Podgorica. I like to walk around there and ask myself how could this neighborhood be restored and rehabilitated, painted and decorated, how could it be cleaned up and become a nice place for living again, as it was thirty years […]
RESTAURANT RAPSODIA: AN AMAZING CULINARY EXPERIENCE IN ALBANIA
There is a place in Albania I visit very frequently. And that is Hotel Restaurant Rapsodia in Shengjin, municipality of Lezhë (2 km from the highway Shkodra-Tirana when you pass Lezhë). Why would we travel more than 100 km from Podgorica for just a dinner? Why would we take all our friends and relatives to […]
ALBANIA, TAMARË: THE NEW KELMEND ROAD
The area around the Cijevna river (in Albanian: Cem river) has always attracted me, so the information that a Joint action plan for its ecological defense and the sustainable environmental development of the cross-border area was started this year made me quite curious. A draft feasibility study on eco-tourism development in the surrounding villages […]
REQUIEM FOR YUGOSLAVIA
Guest blogger: Nataša Djukanović I feel offended when someone says something bad about Yugoslavia. I feel like we, the people who were born and lived in Yugoslavia are a special endangered species going to be extinguished in the next couple of years. So, don’t offend us. Don’t throw a stone on our already ruined home. […]
AN UNKNOWN WILD FRUIT: CORNELIAN CHERRIES (CORNUS MAS)
Have you ever seen or tasted cornelian cherries? In Montenegro they are called “drenjine”. Many foreigners probably do not know these wild berries that usually ripen in September, as they are consumed in Eastern Europe and Iran only. In Western Europe the tree is also grown as an ornamental plant for its late winter flowers, […]
PODGORICA WALKING TOUR II: TRANSFORMERS DEFENDING PODGORICA
Some people say that Podgorica is boring and unattractive. I don’t agree! But it‘s true: Podgorica got a new face last summer, which makes it much more interesting, not only for tourists but also for local inhabitants! In July, an environmental exhibition of sculptures made by Danilo Baletić (22) was set up, within the “Podgorica […]
ALBANIA, SHKODRA: A BIKING TOUR TO URA E MESIT (MES BRIDGE)
Enjoying the Indian summer, we spent a relaxed weekend in Lake Shkodra Resort (a perfect place to spend a few days and only 55 km or one hour driving from Podgorica!) with our friends from the Netherlands. The weather was sunny and it was a good opportunity to hire bicycles and make a biking tour […]